


Time To Come Home

by flightinflame



Category: Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (TV 2016)
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Alternate Timelines, Branding, Canon-Typical Violence, Dehumanization, Dirk Gently Needs a Hug, Emotional Manipulation, Government Experimentation, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, M/M, Non-Consensual Body Modification, Osmund Priest is a creep, Pararibulitis (Dirk Gently), Project Blackwing (Dirk Gently), Project Icarus (Dirk Gently), Todd Brotzman is a Good Boyfriend, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-11
Updated: 2018-06-23
Packaged: 2019-05-20 23:44:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14904434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flightinflame/pseuds/flightinflame
Summary: Dirk passes out in the Cardenas house. Rather than going through a portal to Wendimoor, Todd finds himself dragged to Blackwing with Dirk beside him.





	1. Capture

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to my ever-incredible beta.

Todd sat down, when it was over, and worked it out. It had only been thirty hours. Hardly anything. Dirk had been there for two months, and before that, for eight years. Thirty hours had been enough to leave Todd with nightmares, to mean he held Dirk a little tighter when they both curled up in bed together, taking it in turns to guard the other before eventually they settled into a fragile sleep.

***

Todd tried to keep up with the others as they hurtled down the corridors in the hospital, pursued by a woman who seemed both unstoppable, and determined to slaughter Dirk. Dirk was apparently functioning in his role as the sexiest of GPS systems, racing down the corridors with a sense of purpose. Then Farah had shot out the lock, to get them into the room Dirk wanted them in, and Arnold Cardenas had slipped away.

Todd turned in time to see Arnold's death, struck down by one of the geometric shapes that Susie Boreton was throwing - and they possibly should have paid more attention to Bart's warning when she'd first appeared on the scene.

"Hello there-" A voice spoke, as Dirk ran to Arnold. Todd heard gunshots, but he was more focused on pulling Dirk away. His eyes had gone strangely empty, and he was shaking a little.  
"No." Dirk mumbled to himself, his gaze still absent. Todd swore, half shoving Dirk down a flight of stairs, before manouvering ahead of him and pulling him along. Dirk seemed half-awake, not wanting to move, and he was slowing them down. 

Todd could hear police sirens in the distance.  
"Come on, it's gonna be okay Dirk."  
Dirk looked at him coldly.  
"It most certainly is not."  
Todd swore. This was not the time for always optimistic, _annoyingly_ optimistic Dirk to have a crisis of confidence.  
"We'll figure it out. We have to get out of here. We'll regroup."

Dirk seemed to stop, his entire body slumped slightly, a puppet whose strings had been cut.  
"There's nowhere to go. And The Boy is dead... so, there's no regrouping."

"No," Todd argued, trying to think of anything to say to get Dirk out of here. The police were coming, the witch that was chasing them was coming, and Dirk was frozen.

A car screeched ahead of them, Farah leaning out of the window.  
"Let's go! Now!"   
Todd pushed Dirk into the back of the car, shoving him when he was reluctant to move and slamming the door behind him.  
"Whose car is this?"  
"They won't miss it." Farah answered, speeding away as the cops turned up.

***

They hurried down roads, Farah putting distance between them and the hospital. Dirk was silent in the back seat. Eventually, Todd twisted to look at him. He was pale, and he still looked like he had no idea where he was - if Todd didn't know better, he'd think he was drugged or had hit his head.  
"Dirk, I know that was bad, but are you gonna be okay?"  
"Come on Dirk, we need you," Farah added, twisting around for a moment before looking back at the road.

"I've never seen him like-" Todd murmured, and Farah nodded.  
"I know."

Dirk wasn't responding, so they had to pick where to go without him. Farah wanted to get the hell out of Bergsberg, and plan at a safe distance. Todd was afraid, but he knew that they had to get to Wendimoor. He had to get to Amanda. There was only one place he knew that could do that.   
"Screw this, everything is imploding, go to the Cardenas house, I’m going to get my sister."  
He ignored Farah's argument that he could have been hallucinating.  
"It's the only place left." 

That at least persuaded her, and she swung the car around on the road, heading back in the direction that they had come. From the back seat, Dirk made no response.

***

The car parked as near to the house as they could get, and Todd clambered from his seat, racing up to the front steps before realising he was alone.  
"Dirk?" He turned back, and saw Dirk was slowly clambering from the car, each movement achingly delayed. "Dirk! With me!"

Dirk stumbled from the car, making his way towards the house. After a handful of steps he seemed to admit defeat, sinking to his knees in the grass, his arms wrapped around his chest.  
"Dirk, come on, get up!" Todd tried to order. When there was no response, he shook his head. "Fine, it's just you and me, Farah. Wendimoor, here we come."  
He took a step, and stopped when Farah caught his arm. She was staring behind him.

Following her gaze, he saw a dark vehicle approaching.  
"Oh that can't be good."  
Farah pulled out her gun, examining it.  
"I'm out of ammunition." Todd froze, and she shook her head. "Get Dirk inside."  
"What about you?" Todd asked, following her to Dirk. "Farah?" 

With Farah's help he grabbed Dirk, who hung limply against him. He half pulled, half carried him inside the house.  
"Dirk! Stand up!"  
"We don’t have the boy. We failed the case, there’s nowhere to go. It’s all pointless isn’t it?" Dirk murmured, his voice quiet, arms still wrapped around himself. Todd could feel his patience running out. This wasn't the time for Dirk to be being unhelpful.

"Look, maybe I’m The Boy. At least we give it a try." He suggested, pulling Dirk with him, and exchanging a nod with Farah as she stepped out to defend them. Todd tried not to listen to the voice in his head that told him he'd brought his friends to somewhere that the government had been waiting for them.

He pulled Dirk through the house, to the room with the mural. It was the only logical place to look. He turned on the lamp as they got into the room, just as Dirk collapsed in the corner, his knees drawn up against his chest and a miserable expression on his face. Todd tried to ignore it, to approach the problem sensibly, and locking the door behind them.

"Okay. Panto arrived on this bed, so, it must somehow turn into a portal." He brushed what was on the bed off of it, and looked beneath, before turning to Dirk, hoping for some kind of psychic hint. "You know, I could really use your help here. This is kind of your speciality, finding strange handles and switches that do weird stuff?"

Dirk looked down, his expression utterly wretched, seeming to be rocking a little. He was still clinging to his own arms.  
"All right." Todd muttered. If Dirk wasn't going to help, then he would have to do it himself. "So, Panto described it almost like he fell onto the bed, so … Oh. Yes. Of course, I have to fall onto the bed." He clambered up onto the bed, before falling backwards. All he got for his trouble was some pain and a cloud of dust.

He heard someone move downstairs, pushing open the front door, and tried to think quickly. What would Dirk do, if he wasn't just being useless?   
"Maybe the portal is actually the ceiling?" Todd suggested, jumping on the bed. His fingertips brushed the ceiling. Dirk wasn't moving from his corner, even though he was taller than Todd and could probably do this more easily, even aside from innate abilities and not-psychicness. 

A male voice echoed through the house.  
"Svlad Cjelli. It’s time to come home."   
Todd clambered down from the bed, approaching Dirk, hoping he might be able to at least get him standing. As he approached, he saw that Dirk's face was pale and clammy, his breathing audible and racing.  
"A lot of people died today because of you." The voice continued, and Todd didn't like that voice. It was making the hair on his arms stand on end, and that coupled with the utter terror in Dirk's eyes made him feel sick. Even emptiness was better than that.  
"Who the hell is that?"

It took a few moments for Dirk to manage to speak, and Todd grabbed his hands, trying to calm his breathing. When Dirk spoke, he sounded broken.   
"That’s Priest. Farah’s dead. I’m sorry Todd… but now you’re dead too."  
Todd shook his head. He knew Blackwing were the monsters of Dirk's childhood, but they didn't get to control them now. Dirk was afraid of them, but Farah wasn't. Todd knew what she was capable of, had seen her handle soul-swapping freaks and outrun the CIA for two months.

"There’s no way. Farah can take anybody out. She’s probably planning a sneak attack or something." By now, Dirk was panting, his hands shaking, and Todd reached out, tilting Dirk's head so he was looking up at him. "Look, we just need to portal into Wendimoor, save Amanda, figure out all The Boy stuff, and come right back. Everything’s gonna be fine."  
Dirk wordlessly shook his head, and now the footsteps were getting closer. Todd tried to think, his gaze falling on the child's drawing.

"If the portal to Wendimoor is in here somewhere, then wouldn’t it make sense for it to literally be through the mural?" He ran at it, and found out that that most certainly was not where the portal was. He turned to Dirk, who was staring towards the door, breath coming in awkward gasps, sounding almost like he had been shot. Todd hated that he knew how that would sound.

"Poor, confused, dangerous little Svlad Cjelli, Dirk Gently, Project Icarus, always in trouble. Come back to Blackwing before anyone else dies because of you."  
"I deserve to go back." Dirk murmured, before slumping to the side.

Todd's attention was drawn from the water stain on the wall when he saw that Dirk was lying on the floor. He crouched beside him, feeling Dirk's pulse.  
"Dirk, come on, Dirk this isn't time for a nap." He muttered, as he heard the door handle rattle.  
"Oh, no, the door is closed. However will I get inside?"

A moment later, a gunshot cracked through the air. Todd moved to protect Dirk, sheltering him with his body as the door was pushed open. 

The man there aimed his gun towards Todd, and Todd raised his hands.  
Todd could hear static, before a faint voice spoke, the words inaudible.

"I'm gonna need a lockdown team." Priest answered, looking at the two of them and laughing to himself as he approached.


	2. Homecoming

Todd felt nauseous, trying to keep his body between Dirk and the man with the gun. The man gestured, waving his gun slightly and raising an eyebrow. Todd moved to the side, leaving Dirk exposed, feeling sick. The man gestured for him to stand, quickly patting him down, removing the air-gun from his waistband, before pulling the brass knuckles from Todd’s pocket and chuckling.  
“I’ll be keeping that…” Satisfied that Todd no longer posed any potential threat, he shoved him away, crouching down in front of Dirk and stroking his fingers through his hair. Dirk whimpered, opening his eyes and flinching away.  
“Not you.”  
"Oh Svlad, you have no idea how excited I was to hear you'd escaped. We had so much fun last time I brought you in..." Priest sneered down at him, and Todd stared at him.  
“You can’t- that’s not his name!” Todd protested. The man answered him by cocking his gun and pointing it at him, not even looking at Todd.

“Please,” Dirk whispered. “I’ll come home, just don’t… please.”   
Priest looked at him coldly. Dirk licked his lips self-consciously, his gaze down on the floor.  
“Please Mister Priest.”  
“There we go Svlad, haven’t forgotten all of your manners. That wasn’t so hard was it?” He gripped Dirk’s hair, pulling him up from the ground. Dirk struggled to his feet, head bowed. “See, what worries me is, you’ve been behaving now, but once we’re back inside you’re going to go back to your old ways.”

Dirk tried to shake his head, but the grip in his hair didn’t let him.  
“So what we’re gonna do, we’re going to go back to Blackwing, all three of us. And long as you don’t cause trouble, you can keep your little boyfriend. You always used to say you were lonely, so you won’t be lonely anymore. Doesn’t that sound good?” Priest asked, tugging Dirk’s hair and making him nod.  
“Yes Mister Priest,” Dirk murmured, his voice utterly hollow.

Todd felt almost like he was floating as he walked with the man from the house, Dirk shoved in front of them, the gun held at the base of Dirk’s skull. When they reached outside, Todd saw a larger van had arrived, and Priest ushered both of them into the back of the van. Dirk clambered in, sitting down on a bench, and one of the other Blackwing agents reached out to fasten a cuff to his wrist.   
“Beside him.” Priest ordered, and Todd sat down beside Dirk, tensing as he was cuffed as well. Dirk whined softly, twisting and pressing his forehead into Todd’s shoulder. Todd moved his free hand up to stroke through Dirk’s hair.   
“Shh, it’s okay,” he lied, and got a whimper in return.  
“I’d get some sleep if I were you Svlad. We’re gonna be back in Blackwing in five or six hours, you’re gonna need the rest.”  
Dirk twisted slightly, his fingers wrapping around Todd’s own. Todd squeezed back gently, hoping it would soothe him. He glared over at Priest, who was sitting opposite them.  
“It’s cute,” Priest muttered. “Didn’t think Svladdy’d manage to stay near someone for long enough to build a relationship.”  
“Leave him alone.” Todd snapped.  
Priest stood up, approaching Todd and dragging him to his feet with one hand on his shoulder. The chained hand was trapping him, meaning he couldn’t stand up fully. Priest punched him full force, once in the stomach and once in the chest, making him cry out, before dropping him back down onto the bench beside Dirk. Todd curled up, trying to take deep breaths as pain radiated through him.  
“Like I was saying,” Priest carried on. “I’m sorry you got yourself caught up in all this.”

Dirk cuddled up against Todd’s shoulder, and Todd heard him mumbling his own apologies. He squeezed Dirk’s hand, and Dirk was quiet. Silence fell, other than the rumble of the tires and the noise of the radio. 

Todd felt startled when he realised Dirk had fallen asleep on his shoulder.

***

The van travelled on for what seemed to be an eternity, Dirk's weight slumped against Todd's shoulder, his breathing even. Occasionally, he would seem to panic, but Todd just murmured wordlessly to him and squeezed his hand, and he would settle down again.

Todd couldn't sleep. He kept thinking back to the previous night, the concert, the hope he had felt when he had held Dirk and they had been happy. Even Dirk had put aside his worries, and now it was all for nothing. They were heading back to Blackwing. The other guards in the van were veiled and silent. The man who had brought them in, who they were travelling with, was working on a tablet - or possibly playing a game, Todd couldn't see the screen from this angle and didn't want to risk being caught staring. His chest ached from where he had been punched, and he was sure his stomach would be bruised. There was no sign of Farah, even as he hoped she would reveal herself as one of the veiled guards.

It was only when the van pulled up that Dirk's eyes opened, and he looked towards Todd and flinched.  
"You're here," he murmured, but he sounded broken not relieved, as though Todd's presence was a confirmation of all of his greatest fears. Todd squeezed his hand, and he managed a faint upturning of the lips that was probably meant to be a smile.

"Back in the land of the living, Svlad?" Priest asked, and Dirk shrugged.  
"Unfortunately."  
"I'd have thought you'd want to stay with your little boyfriend," Priest shrugged, standing and stretching, before reaching to release the cuffs around their wrists. Todd grabbed Dirk's hand, knowing that being separated from him here would be worse than what happened when they were together.  
"I want to stay with him," Dirk answered, before lowering his head slightly and adding "Mister Priest." He sounded almost petulant, and if it wasn't for the seriousness of the situation, Todd might have laughed.

"Good. So the old man was right, you can behave sometimes. You take your boyfriend through processing, I've got to meet Friedkin and the boss. West, Mercer, keep an eye on them." With that Priest opened the doors to the van, and stepped out.

Todd looked around frantically, trying to think of how to escape. He wasn't sure what state they were in, or even which town, and they appeared to be in an underground parking garage. Dirk clambered out from his seat, holding his hand out to Todd once more.  
"Where are we going?" Todd whispered.  
"Processing?" Dirk answered. "Were you not listening?"  
"You... shouldn't we be escaping?" Todd asked, only for Dirk to glare, reaching to cover Todd's mouth with his free hand.  
"Don't. Let. Them. Hear. You." Dirk insisted, his eyes wide with terror. He glanced behind them, where the guards waited, their guns trained on the two of them. "Let's just get this over with."

Todd hesitated, but Dirk's hand tightened on his slightly, and he could see the desperation there. He wasn't enough of a monster to refuse something Dirk wanted, even if he couldn't understand _why_ Dirk wanted to cooperate with this. Dirk led him through a door, into a white walled room lined with shelves, which smelled faintly of disinfectant.

Dirk took off his jacket, hanging it on a coat hook, and picked up a box from one of the shelves. He pulled out four test tubes, and the smallest pair of scissors Todd had seen in his life. He watched as Dirk carefully cut some of his hair, placing it in the green lidded sample tube.  
"Todd," Dirk glanced over at him. "Your box is there."

Todd stared at him, and Dirk shrugged a little, a swab in his mouth. He placed it in the blue tube.  
"I'll just finish up, then I'll help you."  
With that, he disappeared with the two remaining tubes, into a side room. He returned quickly, placing them back in the box before Todd could see what was in them.

"Dirk, what's going on?" Todd asked, and he was frightened now - not just because this whole thing was _weird_ but because Dirk seemed to be almost calm about the whole thing.  
"They're just checking for contamination," Dirk said, and if his smile seemed a little too bright, his voice a little too cheerful, Todd didn't have the energy to question it. "Look, can you-" he held out the yellow bottle from Todd's own kit.  
"What?"  
"Urine sample," Dirk prompted. "Bathroom's through there."

Reluctantly, but not wanting to upset Dirk by disobeying, Todd went and did what was required.  
"That one goes here-" Dirk explained, opening up the box and showing him where each sample went. "Scissors for hair-" He cut a small part of Todd's hair, placing it in a tube, then held out the swab for his mouth. Todd glared, but opened his mouth, and Dirk took that sample, before pulling out a needle and rolling up Todd's sleeve.  
"You're not about to jab a needle in me Dirk," Todd tried to reason, frightened by the way his boyfriend seemed to be being a cooperative Blackwing automaton.  
"You can do it if you want?" Dirk offered. "But I know how to make it hurt less."

Feeling sick, Todd nodded, and Dirk drew the sample as quickly and carefully as he could, capping off the red vial and placing it back in its box, then sealing both of them and writing the dates. He hesitated, staring at it for a moment, hands shaking.  
"Hurry up, Icarus," came a voice from the doorway, and Todd realised that one of the guards was still standing there.

Their voice seemed to spur Dirk into action, and he carefully drew a diamond with a bisected circle on his, and wrote Todd's name on the other box, then put the pen down.  
"Showers," he murmured.  
"Uh, where?" Todd asked, and Dirk pointed at a door on the other side of the room from where the guard was standing. He was kicking off his shoes already, removing his clothes.

For a moment, Todd thought that he was going to stop when he reached his underwear, but it was clear that he was wrong. Once Dirk was naked, he turned and looked at Todd.  
"Todd. You're still dressed."  
"We're being watched and I don't exactly want to shower with you right now-" Todd muttered. He was aiming for humour, but missed, badly.  
"Todd," Dirk said, and now there was a hint of desperation in his voice. "Please."

Todd reached for his shirt buttons, undressing, thinking of PE in high school. He felt self-conscious, but Dirk seemed to be keeping himself between Todd and the guard, which Todd was grateful for.

As always, when he saw Dirk naked, his eyes were drawn to the scars that crossed his body, the tattooed symbol above his heart. Todd knew if Dirk turned, he would see the brand that was on his shoulder blade, the same as the tattoo, as the image Dirk had drawn on the box.

Dirk gave him an encouraging shove, and he walked through to the shower room. The water was already running, cool but not freezing to the touch. The smell of soap lingered in the air, and there were bottles of it beside the shower. There were two more guards here, their guns trained on Dirk.  
"Dirk?" Todd asked quietly.  
"It's fine," Dirk responded. "Mostly they're there to ensure I don't try anything."

Todd didn't want to consider what _anything_ might consist of in this scenario. Dirk was washing himself quickly, so Todd followed his lead, feeling more exposed than he ever had in his life.

The water cut off after a couple of minutes, and Dirk headed through to the next door, passing Todd a faintly stained towel and taking one for himself. Todd dried himself quickly, wrapping the towel around his waist as Dirk continued working on drying his hair.  
"Dirk?" Todd asked softly, as Dirk reached up, pulling down a familiar grey jumpsuit with an orange stripe, a pair of underwear and a shirt balanced on top. He handed it to Todd who dressed quickly, surprised to see that all the clothing had the ‘Icarus’ symbol on it. Dirk pulled on his own clothes, his fingers unconsciously rubbing at the symbol on the fabric. 

"Why are you helping them?" Todd hissed. A look of pain flickered across Dirk's face.  
"You... it took me a long time to prove to them I could learn this routine. That I could do it by myself. I'm just... I just want to make it easier on you."

Before Todd could ask anything more, Priest walked through the door.  
"Oh that's just adorable," he murmured, looking at the two of them. "Matching outfits. Friedkin wants to have a word with you, but first I've got to show you to your room. Really though, that should be Brotzman’s role, what with his old job-"

Todd tensed at the idea that Blackwing knew about his past.  
"Speaking of," Priest continued, fishing a packet of pills from his pocket. "I got these, boss says to wait and see if he gets any."

Todd expected Dirk to argue, to fight. But he just nodded, walking out and turning left.  
"Not there anymore Svlad," Priest called out, and Dirk froze, returning to him. "After your little escape attempt, we found a new room for you. Don't worry, it's done up just like your old one."  
"Thank you, Mister Priest," Dirk answered coldly, reaching for Todd's hand and walking with him along the corridor.


	3. Marked

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please pay attention to the tags for this chapter.

They walked along the corridors, passing various symbols before stopping in front of one that Todd recognised. The room that Mister Priest showed them into was small and plain, a single bed with a thin blanket taking up most of the room. Where the bed connected to the wall there was a shelf, with a couple of changes of clothes, and the room was lit faintly by concealed lighting.  
"I'll be back for y'all shortly. It's been decided that it’s better for the projects' health if they only use their rooms for resting, so you boys take some time and relax. You know how to get room service Svlad." 

With that, he walked away, the door locking electronically behind him. Dirk sat down on the floor, his back to the bed. Todd glanced around, then sat beside him, feeling the cold concrete that made up the frame of the bed at his back.  
"Dirk?" he whispered under his breath. "Dirk, you're scaring me."  
The same hopeless expression that had been in Dirk's eyes at the Cardenas house had returned, but when he saw Todd looking Dirk forced an attempt at a smile.  
"They left us spare clothes?" Dirk said, and he was trying to sound positive, but there was no comfort there.

"How do we get ou-" Todd started to ask, stopped when Dirk's hand covered his mouth.  
"There are cameras and speakers in here Todd. Please, don't say anything that might get you into trouble." 

Todd flinched, but nodded, not wanting to scare Dirk. Dirk seemed to trust him, because he moved his hand away from Todd's mouth and kissed his cheek.  
"You can take the bed Todd, I'll be fine on the floor."

Todd moved to sit on the bed, and pulled Dirk up off of the hard concrete. He laid down, holding out his arms.  
"We can both fit, look."  
Dirk awkwardly laid down beside him. It wasn't exactly comfortable, but the two of the could just about fit, and Todd held Dirk close. 

The mattress felt old, and Todd could feel the springs pressing against him, but he ignored them in favour of kissing Dirk gently. Dirk returned the kiss, pulling away after a moment.   
"I'm sorry Todd."  
"I'm here with you," Todd answered. "I'm where I want to be."  
Dirk whimpered slightly but nodded, clutching him.  
"I'll keep you safe," Dirk promised. A moment later, the door opened, and Todd realised Dirk practically leapt to his feet, hands raised non-threateningly. Todd followed a moment later, to find Priest smirking at both of them.  
"You boys can have time to get some rest and relaxation after the boss has had a word. Come on."  
He was still in the doorway, and Dirk started to walk towards him. Todd held back.  
"You got one chance Brotzman, then I'm coming in and I'm dragging you out."

Reluctantly, Todd followed Dirk from the room. Dirk's hand reached for his once more, and he held onto it tightly.

Dirk's hand was trembling against his, and that worried Todd, especially combined with that bright, awful smile on Dirk's lips.  
"Stop grinning," he hissed, and Dirk cringed slightly, but his face fell into a blankness that was almost a comfort. 

Priest led them down a corridor, and he could hear footsteps of guards behind them, but Dirk didn't hesitate, just trailed along like a wounded dog after its master. Todd's insides felt like they were twisting into knots - and he shook his head quickly, clearing away that thought before it could deform into another hallucination. They had the pills he needed, they just had to get them.

Dirk was quiet as he walked, and surprisingly still. Priest paused outside the door.  
"I want you on your best behaviour Svlad. No tricks, and no lies. You get me?"  
"Yes Mister Priest," Dirk answered, and Priest smiled, reaching out and ruffling Dirk's hair. Todd saw how Dirk tensed at the touch, expecting pain. Then Priest reached over Dirk's head, knocking on the door.

"Uh, you can like, come in-" came a voice that sounded no more sure of what he was doing there than Todd felt. Priest pushed open the door, and revealed a man sat at the desk, a file in front of him unopened. There was an empty chair the other side of the desk. Todd noticed that there was bruising around the man's throat.  
"Icarus," the man greeted Dirk, who was glaring at him now, more like the man that Todd knew and cared about. "We, I mean, I had like, some questions to ask you? About what happened?" 

The man glanced up, and sighed, rolling his eyes.  
"Icarus, you can sit down you know... Uh, Mister Priest said that's your boyfriend? Like, don't worry, I don't have a problem with that it just- well, I mean, I wasn't sure about having you rooming together but-"  
"He's my boyfriend," Dirk said softly as he sat down in the chair, back straight, arms across his chest. Todd hesitated, thinking back. He and Dirk had kissed, and they'd had sex, and he was used to waking up beside him. They went on dates, and Dirk called him his boyfriend when they were alone. Just hearing him admit it, hearing the sheer desperation in Dirk's voice, left him feeling a little sick. "Please let him stay with me."

"Uh, sure, I guess, I mean...that shouldn't be a problem right?" the man asked, then frowned and shrugged a little. "You can keep him if you work hard on the tests."  
Dirk nodded quickly, a frown crossing his features.

"Look, anyway, I uh, I wanted to talk to you, because you escaped, and really that's… that's like, not great, because this is a super-secret facility and it's definitely escape proof so uh-if you could let us- me know how you got out, that'd be good."

Dirk looked down, and shook his head.  
"I honestly don't know. One minute I was trying to get some sleep in my cell, and the next I was in the trunk of a car in Bergsberg-"  
Todd screamed as a sudden burst of pain flared in his side, falling to the floor and then yelping as he was kicked in the ribs where he had just been punched, and then again in the thigh. He curled up into a ball, hands up in an attempt to protect his head as further blows rained down on him, punches and kicks, and he was yelling now, his head slamming against the concrete floor.

"Hey, can you like, stop that-" the man was out of his chair now, and actually standing half-over Todd. "You don't need to like... kill him... he might come in useful later."  
Priest laughed, but stepped away, and Todd risked looking up at Dirk, who had his arms wrapped around his knees, tears on his face.  
"Let me try that again," the man muttered, going back to his seat and fiddling with his ear.  
"How did you get out of Blackwing?"  
"I was asleep-"

Todd found himself being picked up off the floor and flung towards the desk, which he hit with a crunch. For a second he thought his arm might be broken from the force of the impact. Priest stepped forwards, grabbing Dirk's chin, twisting him so that he looked down at Todd.  
"You quit lying right now Icarus, or I start breaking bones. Start with his fingers-"  
Todd whimpered at that, trying to curl his fingers into fists, knowing he needed them to play guitar.

"No," Dirk pleaded. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Mister Priest, Mister Friedkin, I'll..." he was gasping so hard he could barely speak, reaching out towards Todd.  
"Mister Priest, you need to like, not kill the prisoners okay?" the other man, Friedkin, tried to order. "Look, you...uh, can you go and get like, a clean up crew, he's bleeding all over the interrogation room floor."  
"It won't be the first time this floor's got blood on it," Priest answered, but he left the room. Friedkin visibly relaxed.

"Look, we have like, cameras and like, Project Lamia revealed herself earlier-" he rubbed at his throat as he spoke. "So how about you tell me what like, what happened before he comes back, and then you and your boyfriend can go and rest?"  
Dirk nodded, rubbing away his tears with one hand and resting the other on Todd's shin.

"I'll tell you," Dirk murmured. "Mona came and found me. She said that I needed to go and solve a case," he hesitated, and Todd felt his heart break because Dirk looked so shattered. He could feel his own blood soaking through his shirt, and everything hurt. Dirk shuddered and continued.  
"She said I had to find the boy. That was all. And I did, and now he's dead, and I'm back here so please... please don't punish Todd. I was the one who messed up."

Friedkin nodded slightly, fiddling with his ear again.  
"We're going to resume your testing Icarus. Brotzman will complete initial processing and then be waiting in your room."  
Dirk nodded shakily, sliding off the chair to kneel beside Todd, pressing a gentle kiss to his lips.  
"I won't be long," he murmured. Todd tried to smile, but doubted his smile looked any more real than Dirk's own.

***

"How did you and Svlad meet?" Priest asked cheerfully as he dragged Todd down the corridor. Todd was barely able to stand, let alone keep up with the pace the man was setting, and everything hurt. He wanted to believe this was all a nightmare, all some kind of monstrous attack, but he knew it was real. "Come on now boy." Priest spoke softly, his voice deathly calm. "You shouldn't keep me waiting for an answer."

"Uh, he kind of broke in through a window," Todd answered honestly. There were things that were worth lying over, and things that weren't. This fell into the latter. Anyway, Todd might have been a convincing liar, but Dirk wasn't, and Priest seemed like the kind to check this stuff. 

"You know, you shouldn't have gotten mixed up in all this." Priest's grip tightened a little, as he pulled him further through the labyrinth of corridors. "Svlad has always been getting into trouble, getting people killed. Started off with his parents, I gave him a choice, nice and easy, just come with me and not get hurt, and he wouldn't behave..." He sighed a little, releasing his grip on Todd to open the door they were in front of.

Todd stumbled, only just managing to keep his feet under him. He could barely comprehend what was being told.  
"You murdered his parents, you monster."   
"He murdered his parents when he said no to my offer," Priest answered with a laugh. "And he's gonna get you murdered too. Can't wait to see how he reacts when you die."  
Todd felt an icy anger build within him. He tried to throw a punch, to at least get one hit in, but Priest blocked it easily, laughter louder now. He pushed Todd into the room, pointing at the chair that was in the middle of the room, a silver tray half-hidden behind it.

Todd stood still, so Priest shoved him into it, standing over him and smiling, fastening straps around Todd's wrists to hold him in place. He picked up something, a thick needle, from the tray, shoving Todd's neck to the side and injecting it. Todd squirmed as he felt something push into him, but then Priest pulled out the needle, patting his hair and then tugging on it so that Todd looked up at him.  
"Look, Brotzman, I'm gonna give you a choice. You didn't ask to come here, didn't ask to get mixed up in any of this. So you can go. I'll let you leave, hell, I'll put you on a coach back to Montana if you'd like, and just take some blood so I can tell him you didn't make it. Or you can stay."

Todd's heart raced. He wanted to run. He understood that the man he had been before he met Dirk would have seized this chance with both hands, and not looked back. But he wasn't that man now.  
"I'm not leaving Dirk."  
"Suit yourself," Priest answered, and Todd saw that there was a knife in his hand. He tensed as the man cut through his jumpsuit, exposing his chest. Todd tried to back away. There was nowhere to go.

"Hold still boy, you don't want me to mess this up," Priest pressed the hand not holding the knife to Todd's throat, and then the knife pierced his skin. Todd closed his eyes, and tried to remember to breathe. It felt like he was having an attack, his body trembling in the restraints as he felt the knife skim across his chest. Suddenly the pain receded, and then burst brighter than before, and he glanced down to see Priest's hand pressing against the wound, fingers stained with blood and ink.  
"That'll do until we can get you marked up properly," Priest murmured, and his hand was removed, leaving Todd bleeding. He could feel an attack threatening, tried to breathe through it as Priest wiped his hand clean on the remainder of the jumpsuit.

He was so focused on his breathing he barely noticed Priest manoeuvring him until he felt the brush of air against his right shoulder. The tattoo was on the left side, over his heart, like Dirk's. His brain seemed to work out what was happening, and he could hear himself pleading.

The smell of frying bacon met him, before the agony began. He'd had attacks before where he'd been burned alive or touched molten metal, but nothing prepared him for this. He was screaming and trying to fight against his bonds, and the pain continued until he fell limply back in his seat, mercifully losing consciousness. In his last thoughts before darkness claimed him, he could hear laughter.

***

When he came to he found he was lying face down in Dirk's bed, an undamaged jumpsuit around his waist, his chest resting on a towel and his shoulder still burning. He tried to move and immediately decided that was a mistake, his body aching from bruises and his new injuries. It was easier to lie still and hope that the pain stopped soon.

He heard footsteps, and managed to glance towards the door. It opened, and Dirk walked in.   
"Shit!" Dirk whispered, and he was beside Todd in an instant, examining his shoulder. Todd whimpered when he was prodded, but Dirk didn't seem to be deterred.   
"Todd, I-"  
"Don't," Todd pleaded, and looked up at Dirk. Dirk's eyes were damp, and his face and jumpsuit were stained slightly with a range of colours. "None of this is your fault."  
"I got you involved," Dirk whispered, and Todd didn't have the strength to argue with that.

"I can sleep on the floor-" Dirk offered after a few moments of silence had passed.  
Todd managed to shake his head, and hissed as he shuffled slightly so there was room for Dirk beside him. Dirk's hand rested against his own.  
"We'll be okay," Dirk promised. "I'll get better at testing, they won't have any reason to hurt you-"  
Todd squeezed Dirk's hand, letting his boyfriend talk at him, not quite tracking the words through the pain.

They were interrupted when a concealed panel in the door opened, and a tray of food was slid inside.  
"I'll..." Dirk hesitated, pressing a kiss to Todd's forehead before getting up to grab their dinner.


	4. Questions

Todd wasn't quite sure what he was expecting the food in this place to be - possibly a bowl of gruel and some dry bread. The tray Dirk brought back reminded him a lot of being in elementary school - it was brightly coloured plastic, divided into sections.  
"Here..." Dirk picked up a clementine, placing the tray on the pillow beside Todd's head. He peeled the fruit, holding out the first slice towards Todd. Todd took it, pressing a kiss to Dirk's fingertips.

Dirk smiled fondly and took a piece for himself before repeating the process. Todd glanced over the rest of the food. Alongside a plastic cup of water, there were some crackers, a couple of sandwiches, some raisins, some rice, and a few slices of apple just starting to turn brown. It was both unappetising, and better than what he managed to make for himself most days.

"We sharing?"  
"For now," Dirk admitted. "Sorry. I did well enough that we got proper food, but... I'll do better tomorrow." Dirk's voice shook a little at that, and Todd raised an eyebrow.  
"Proper food?"  
"Uh. Not, um..." Dirk fidgeted a little, holding out a cracker now for Todd so he didn't have to move his injured shoulder. "Not special management?"  
"What's..." Todd asked, then sighed.  
"Well, if something approaching meatloaf was all you ever got. It's...nutritionally balanced." Dirk said, picking his words carefully. "But we have proper food now."

He continued to feed Todd, encouraging him to take sips of water. Occasionally Todd noticed that Dirk was giving him more than his fair share of food, so he turned away slightly, but mostly he ate what he was given. Dirk was struggling enough, he didn't want to make it harder for him.

"I don't know how long they're going to let you rest up for," Dirk admitted quietly once the meal was finished, and the plastic tray replaced by the door. "Riggins gave me three days bed rest after I completed processing, but..." his voice trailed off again, eyes blankly looking at the wall ahead of him. "I don't think Mister Priest is going to be that kind."

Todd hesitated, then nodded. He tried to lift his body up, cringing a little at the pain. He could see that the wound on his chest had stuck to the towel he was laying on, the weight of the fabric tugging at the wound. Dirk seemed to notice.  
"It's... I can help you take that off, but it might hurt..."  
Todd couldn't find the words to agree, afraid of what he might see beneath. Carefully, Dirk helped him sit up. He felt almost like he was going to fall backwards off the bed, but Dirk twisted to pick up the remainder of their water ration. 

He straddled Todd's lap carefully, encouraging his left arm onto Dirk's right shoulder. Todd could feel Dirk's brand through the thin material of the jumpsuit, as Dirk began to use the water to dampen the towel, peeling it away a fraction at a time. Todd tried not to see how much blood there was on the towel. When the weight was removed, Dirk carefully examined the cut, throwing the bloodied towel back towards the door, and then giving Todd the remaining sip of water.  
"What... what is it?" Todd murmured, and Dirk hesitated, then drew a shape in the air - something like a pi symbol encased within the letter U.  
"Project Orpheus." Seeming to realise that Todd had no particular understanding of Greek myth, Dirk continued, "He was a musician. A talented one. Even stones were charmed by him. After the loss of his wife, he took male lovers."

Dirk said no more, but Todd knew there must be parts of this story he didn't know, that Dirk was hiding. As symbols to be scarred with for the rest of his life, he supposed there were worse options available.   
Dirk yawned a little, and Todd realised at that moment how tired he was.  
"Can we sleep?"  
"For a little while." Dirk agreed, lying down still dressed in his jumpsuit. Todd tried to reach towards him, even when the movement hurt, and Dirk closed his hands over Todd's own.

Looking closer now, Todd could see that there were shadows of bruises across Dirk's face, that he was shaking a little as he lay there, that there was a fresh injury like a burn to the top of his ear. The room wasn't totally dark, light shining out from the pillars in the corners of the room, but Dirk laid still on the bed without trying to cover his face. Todd wished they could hold each other, but the pain from his wounds was too great. 

They could hold hands. Todd watched as Dirk fell into a reluctant sleep, whimpering softly to himself, and then calming as Todd stretched out to stroke his hair. Dirk leaned into the touch, his whimpers subsiding as Todd shushed him, fighting through his pain. Todd's own sleep took longer to come. 

Two months of running, of trying to find Amanda, and he had failed. They were in Blackwing, and Dirk's sheer joy at freedom had been misplaced. Worse, Todd was left waiting for a madman to kill him. Dirk was still holding onto Todd's hands, and eventually Todd forced himself to rest. Being exhausted made an attack more likely, and he didn't want Dirk to witness that.

***

 _"Awake, Awake, Awake, Awake,"_ A robotic voice, accompanied by a sudden burst of green light, followed by red, orange, purple - cut through the air. Dirk sat up instantly as Todd blurrily blinked awake, glancing up at him. He saw the exact moment Dirk remembered where they were, his eyes closing for a second before he opened them again with a fake smile in place.

 _"You are awake,"_ the alarm informed them. Todd stared, and Dirk swallowed, glancing at him, and then walking over to a side panel. He waited, and it slid open for a moment. Todd heard water running and Dirk returned, making his way immediately to Todd's side, the plastic cup filled once more.  
"Drink," Dirk pleaded with him. "Look, I'll have to go to testing soon. If you are able to rest, just try and relax alright? It'll be okay." Dirk was a terrible liar. 

The plastic tray from the previous evening returned, now with a few slices of apple scattered on the otherwise empty tray. Dirk carried them to the bed, holding one to Todd's lips. Todd ate, then paused when he was offered the second, and then the third.  
"Are you not eating?"  
"I'm not hungry," Dirk said, that false smile back on his face. "Anyway, I'll probably get lunch, so you should eat it."  
Todd opened his mouth to object, then saw that Dirk's eyes were damp with tears. He nodded wordlessly, and opened his mouth once more.

Another buzz of the alarm and Dirk jumped to his feet, leaving the fruit beside Todd. He stood by the main door, hands raised, and two guards were there when the door opened.  
"I'll see you this evening Orpheus," Dirk murmured, and then he was gone, before Todd could protest at the lack of his name. From in the corridor he could hear a recording playing.   
_"Prepare for testing, Project Icarus, Day Two."_  
Todd groaned, reaching for a remaining slice of apple, and wondering if he'd be left alone until Dirk returned.

He had fallen back to sleep when the door opened.  
"Rise and shine project Orpheus, there's someone who I want you to meet," came a voice he had hoped he wouldn't hear again.

 

Todd groaned faintly, pressing his face into the pillow, not wanting to move and face further pain. He'd suffered enough, hadn’t he? Dirk had said that he'd been allowed to rest, and he was still recovering from the previous evening's torture.

He obviously hadn't moved fast enough for the other man, as within a few moments Priest had walked over, grabbing him by his damaged shoulder and pulling him to his feet. Todd yelped, struggling to stand, and cringing as Priest turned him around to examine the cuts.  
"Get dressed Orpheus."

Todd flinched but obeyed, the movements aggravating his injured shoulder. He was aware that both wounds were not yet dry, that his shirt would stick to them and hurt him, but he was glad in a way to be slightly shielded from Priest's gaze.  
"My name is Todd," he whispered to himself. If Priest heard, he didn't react.

"Come with me," Priest ordered, and Todd followed him through more corridors. His shoulder and chest hurt with every movement, as did the bruises he had sustained the previous night. He couldn't walk fast enough, so Priest grabbed him and dragged him along. He knocked on the door.  
"Enter," came a voice, and Todd walked in to find himself faced with the man he was least expecting to be there.   
"You?" He asked in disbelief. "The Bart guy?"  
"Take a seat if you please Orpheus," the man ordered, and Priest shoved him down into a chair. On the screens behind the man, Todd could see video from various points in the building. 

An old man lay unconscious on a bed. A woman sat, four armed guards facing her. Other rooms were empty, and there were a few he couldn't see clearly. Then he noticed a sudden jerky movement from one side, and saw Dirk cringing in a chair, a device attached to his head. As he watched, Dirk pushed a button and then yelped as the thing above his head discharged electricity.  
"What. The. Fuck?" Todd breathed, and was rewarded by Priest's hand squeezing his right shoulder. "What's going on here? Where's Bart?" As he asked that, he remembered that the man facing him was called Ken. "Ken, what's happening-"

Ken raised his hand, silencing him.  
"Project Orpheus-"  
"That's not my name, you dick-" Todd hissed, then yelped as Priest's hand covered his mouth, fingers pressing his nostrils closed. He raised his hands to try and pull himself free, unable to breathe. Ken watched, a faint smile playing on his lips.  
"I'm sure Mister Priest here would release you if you give him a reason to..." Ken suggested. "I think from now on, you should only speak when you're asked a question, do you understand?"

Todd nodded frantically, his throat tightening and his vision beginning to darken as the other man’s grip tightened for a moment before releasing him. Priest's hand returned to his shoulder, and he gasped in shuddering breaths.

"Now, Orpheus, do you know where your sister is? I can always increase the severity of Dirk's correction if you need-"  
"I haven't seen her in months," Todd said quickly, seeing Dirk receiving another shock out of the corner of his eye. Whatever it was that had happened when he’d seen Amanda in that cage, he wasn’t sure it was real.

"Do you know what she has been doing?"  
"No, I mean, I guess she was with the rowdies-"  
"Three of them have been under Blackwing's care," Ken explained. "Your sister, and the remaining member of project Incubus, had been heading to Montana, before disappearing from in front of us. Why were they heading to Montana?"

"I don't know," Todd said, then saw Ken's fingers move towards a dial. He licked his lips. "Look, uh, I was in Montana, and so was Farah- Those guys can smell people right?"  
"Incubus can trace other subjects," Ken agreed, his hand moving a safe distance from the controls. "But they cannot cross an entire country searching for people who are not talented in some way. Which leads me to you. The way I see it, there are two options."

Ken took a sip of water, then continued.  
"Either, you have some form of ability that Incubus four was able to follow-"  
"I don't," Todd argued, only to feel Priest's hand move to rest against his neck.   
"Or," Ken continued, not acknowledging the interruption, "your sister does. Now, if we watch this..." He called up a short clip of video. It took a moment for Todd to understand. Amanda was on her back in a parking lot, the littlest, shoutiest Rowdy above her, slamming a baseball bat into the side of a dumpster. As he watched, his sister had an attack, and the Rowdy fed.

"Someone ought to teach those boys not to play with their food," Priest murmured. Todd shuddered, imagining what that had been like for Amanda, how afraid she must have been. He was furious at the Rowdy for doing that to her.

"So, that clip was a little over a week ago. Based on testing from previous captures, Incubus needs to feed no more than once a week. But the following day..." Ken sighed. "I must warn you, this video is a little distressing."

As Todd watched, he saw Amanda lay down on the path of a railway track, in front of an approaching train. He held his breath until she reappeared, clutching her face and screaming as the Rowdy fed.  
"Pararibulitis runs in your family, does it not?" Ken asked, as the tape looped back to the train approaching.  
"Yeah," Todd muttered. "I guess her friend was hungry-"  
"Then, they slipped away from us," Ken explained. "From inside a locked room. What do you know about portals?"

Todd shrugged, and the dial for Dirk's shocks was twisted higher.  
"There's one in the Cardenas house. And..." he hesitated. He didn't want to put Panto at risk but he was watching Dirk suffer and he couldn't stand it. "Panto, he's... he's from some kind of other world, he came through there. If she ended up in a portal I guess its... I guess it’s that..." After a few more moments, and Dirk receiving several more shocks, Ken turned the dial back down to where it was before.

"Thank you Orpheus. That wasn't so hard now, was it?"  
Todd remained silent, and Ken glanced at the screens, frowning a little at what he saw before looking up at Priest.   
"I need to make sure that Friedkin doesn't cause any problems with Lamia. Bring Orpheus along."

Todd found himself once more pulled to his feet and shoved down a corridor.  
The door that they stopped outside was reinforced, and Todd could only assume that whoever was in here was considered far more dangerous than Dirk was. As the door opened, he found it was the room with the woman there - she was sat in a chair, wearing a jumpsuit, the four guards watching her uneasily. In front of her, on another chair, was Friedkin.

When Ken walked in, he was all smiles.  
"Hi Mona," he took the seat from Friedkin, who stood awkwardly to one side of Ken while Todd and Priest stood at the other. The woman, Mona, looked at Priest with wide eyes, her arms wrapping around herself slightly as she rocked a little. Trying to comfort herself. This was Dirk’s friend then. She wasn’t what he was expecting, too quiet and withdrawn to be close to Dirk - but then, that was the effect Blackwing had on people.

 

"Can I see Dirk?" she asked, and her voice was quiet, almost childish. She kept her gaze on the floor, chewing on her lip slightly.  
"Not right now," Ken answered, with far more gentleness than he had used with Todd. "He's in some trouble."  
"Oh, no," Mona answered, glancing up at Priest with big brown eyes. "Trouble is bad."  
"Yes, it is," Ken agreed. "But you can help."

"Okay..." She looked up at Priest again, wriggling in her seat. "He's scaring me,"  
"He's just here to make sure that no one gets hurt," Ken explained gently.   
"Who is with him?"  
"This?" Priest asked, and he shoved Todd a few steps closer. "This is Dirk's new best friend. His special friend. He's replaced you. He loves Orpheus more than you."

The girl looked up at him, and her eyes were damp now, as though she was crying.  
"Maybe you can scare him Lamia," Priest provoked. "Or get rid of him so Dirk is just yours."

"I don’t want to hurt anyone," Mona answered, even as she gazed at Todd sadly. "I’m just an actress. I’m a holistic actress. I can play any role."

Todd listened in amazement as she told the three of them about what had happened, about the snail voice that had borrowed her eyes. She kept looking at Todd, in between answering the questions she was given.  
"Did Orpheus get Dirk in trouble?" she asked, blinking back tears. "I... I can do extra tests, if that'd help, or-"  
Ken held up his hand and smiled.   
"You've done more than enough Mona," he reassured her.

"Did I help Dirk?" she asked, bouncing now in her seat, enthusiasm sparkling in her smile.  
"Oh, yeah. Yeah. Very much," Ken answered, and Todd could see how pleased she was at the thought of being useful. It reminded him of Dirk discovering a case, and that thought stung a little. Mona only wanted to help, and they were using that against her.

"Do I have to stay a person now?" she asked quietly, pouting slightly at the idea.   
"Only for a little while longer, if you don't mind," Ken reassured her. Her face fell but she nodded.  
"Okay. I... I guess that's all nice." 

Ken got to his feet, straightening out his suit jacket.  
"Thank you Mona. You're a great friend."  
With that, he pulled Friedkin from the room, Priest following a moment later with Todd. Once the doors were closed, Ken turned to Priest.

"Take Orpheus, see if you can provoke an attack."


	5. Answers

Todd opened his mouth to argue, only to freeze when he saw the way that Priest was looking at him. His heart was racing, and he didn't think he'd ever felt this trapped or afraid in his life. Maybe Mona could get him out, she'd got Dirk out - he was trying to work out how he could get back to her when Priest gripped him by the back of the neck, pushing him down a corridor.  
"Now, I'm thinking that the boss has given me a bit of a challenge here," Priest murmured, almost singing the words. "Because you saw your little sister get run over by a train, and you didn't even flinch. Still, I like a challenge..."

Todd struggled in his grip, but was held firm.  
"I shot her, you know? Your sister and her own boyfriend. Both the Brotzmans sleeping with freaks, and suffering for it. Sprayed the whole room with bullets, and that was after I broke the boy's fingers. Hope your sister won't be too disappointed... only the thing is, Orpheus, I don't know whether they disappeared before or after I started firing. I heard screams, but that was all..." With that, Priest shoved him into a small room that was almost empty, aside from a chair in the middle of the room with restraints attached.  
"Why don't you sit down?" Priest suggested. "I mean, maybe you're gonna have an attack right away, but if not you're going to be in here for a while..."

Sitting down in the chair, Todd felt terror start to build, only increasing as Priest restrained him with a smirk. He felt sick, and close to tears.  
"There there," Priest murmured, patting his hair. "Svlad learned not to cry when he was twelve, I'm sure you can manage that now, you're an adult after all..."  
"You sick-" Todd began, but then there was the press of cold hard metal to his throat.  
"I'd think long and hard about if you wanna finish that sentence boy," Priest whispered against his ear. "Because if you do, I promise, you are gonna hate your situation far more than you ever did so far." 

He removed the knife, and Todd stayed silent, cringing as Priest nuzzled at his hair.  
"Good boy. I wonder though... whether Svlad really did think he'd escaped, or whether he just thought I'd be nicer to him if he brought me back a new toy."

Todd didn't answer, trying to think of other memories, but the problem was that Blackwing tainted so many of them. Dirk's relief after their first case had been followed by his recapture, and while their current case was both insane and utterly weird, it was also impossible to continue from inside an underground lair.  
"Does he say he loves you?" Priest asked quietly. "Boy like that, he isn't able to love. Only to hurt people. Only ever gets people killed, and you're gonna be his next fatality."

Todd thought of Dirk, dear sweet Dirk who wanted to help people, who had clung to his hands last night, who was surrounded by disaster and by blood and who kept smiling, who kept caring. The madman in front of him had no idea what Dirk was like, not really. He just saw the pain that followed, and thought that was Dirk's doing rather than the way people were lifted from the wreckage. 

"I think I better leave your hands alone for now," Priest said thoughtfully. "Never know when they might come in useful."  
Todd was angry at himself that that comment brought a degree of relief. But it did. That gratitude could easily be dangerous. He tried to concentrate. He just needed to have an attack for the cameras, and then he could go back to their room and curl up with Dirk, and work on how they were getting out of here. Because he knew that needed to happen. He had to get Dirk and Mona away from Blackwing, and anyone else that they could take with them. He'd find something, somewhere, and they'd be okay.

A slap to his face brought him back to the present, and he looked up to find Priest staring at him curiously.  
"Well, you've already damaged one jumpsuit, and it looks like you might be bleeding through this one," the man sighed. "Those things do cost money you know. Still, there are ways to prevent getting them damaged, electric shock for instance."  
Todd swallowed, his mouth dry with terror. He'd had attacks which had shocked him before, he didn't want to feel that again. He wondered if he would be able to fake something and get out of this situation that way, but Priest’s eyes watched him and he was sure he’d get caught.

"Actually..." Priest hummed to himself, moving around behind Todd and chuckling. "Now, if it was me I'd have Svlad brought in, let you see how well he handles pain... it'll be fun to try and see how he's changed over the past few years..." There was a faint electronic beeping, and then Priest chuckled.   
"Hello Ken, I wondered if perhaps I would be able to check on Icarus after I'm finished here. It's been a while," the man laughed again, and squeezed Todd's wounded shoulder, earning a whimper of pain. "I'll come and see you after." Todd shuddered at the tone of his voice, taking a moment to realise he was talking on the comm. "Yeah, I'll put them back in the cell first."

Priest paused, and crouched down in front of Todd.   
"So I get to play with Icarus after this. So don't feel you need to keep fighting the attack . You let it happen now, and sooner you'll be able to go back to your room and rest, and I'll be able to rescue that boy of yours from boring tests that he never gets any better at..." He licked his lips. "Do you know how Svlad's powers work? The universe likes keeping him alive. Terrible things happen, things that would kill anyone else, and he ends up fine... Marzanna's the one who bullets dodge, but he's... he's damn hard to kill. Pretty easy to hurt though, and screams pretty-" He picked up a knife, holding it in front of Todd's eyes, and Todd told himself he could resist an attack, protect Dirk a little longer. If he could keep quiet, maybe Dirk would be alright. Suddenly Todd could feel the chair he was restrained on gripping tighter as knives shot from it, slicing him, cutting him. He was overwhelmed, screaming and shaking, and barely able to hear the words that were being spoken.

The attack continued, blood flowing from him down to the floor, pain peaking, as the man just stood there and watched him scream. 

The pain fell away after a minute, centering in his thigh, and he looked down to see that the knife was buried in the leg of his jumpsuit. Priest smirked.  
"You really do need to stop ruining your clothes. Still, you'll get your own soon enough." With that, he wrenched out the knife, bandaging the wound and reporting on comms.  
"Threats to Icarus, and showing him the blade - physical pain snapped him out of it - looked disorientated - exhausted now I think." He laughed. "Oh, don't worry, I'll put him back in his box before seeing Icarus... might let him know whose blood is on the knife."

***

Being carried back to his cell by a man that Todd was fairly sure was a monster was not the best of experiences, but worse was when he was placed on the bed, and the blanket draped over him, the man's hand resting over the wound on his thigh.  
"I'll bring Svlad back when I'm finished," Priest explained, then walked away, leaving Todd in the barely-lit room.

Todd knew that he should get some sleep, able now to understand why Dirk had napped on his shoulder in the van. If you got a chance to rest in this hell, you had to take it.

But that didn't make sleep come any easier, not when he lay there worrying about how Dirk was, about what that monster might be doing to him. He stared up at the ceiling, counting the tiles, wondering how Dirk had held onto his sanity when he had been held here with no one. It was hard enough with Dirk here, Todd knew he wouldn't manage without him.

He heard noise coming from the corridor, before the door opened and Dirk was shoved in. The door slammed shut. Todd took a couple of breaths before he looked towards Dirk, who was crumpled on the floor, his arms wrapped around himself. Todd made himself stand, fighting the pain from his stab wound as he carefully made his way to Dirk. He gasped as he crouched in front of him, and Dirk looked up at him.  
"Hey you," Dirk said, and he was smiling, a real smile despite the injuries marring his face, and splashes of blood across the jumpsuit. "Still in one piece?"  
Todd nodded, not trusting himself to speak. He was surprised to see that Dirk looked happier than he had since they had been arrested in Bergsberg.

"Excellent, I really do prefer you being in one piece," Dirk murmured, trying to get Todd back to his feet, guiding him down onto the bed and holding his hand once more as he laid beside him.  
"I'll try," Todd murmured. "Priest is..."  
"You get used to him?" Dirk murmured, then shook his head with a frown. "No, actually, that's a lie, he's always awful. What happened?"  
"He caused an attack," Todd paused. "I saw Mona."  
"How is she?" Dirk asked, his expression brightening, a fond smile on his lips.

"Confused, mostly?" Todd guessed. "I mean, she was talking about all these things she could be, and I think Priest upset her-"  
"She was talking? Was Mona a human Todd?"  
"Yes?" Todd answered. "Which I guess is a good sign."  
"Not really," Dirk frowned. "She doesn't like being a human. I mean, it comes in useful sometimes, hands, you know, but..."  
"What would you rather she was?"  
"She likes being a chair."

"Dirk," Todd stared at him. "You can't be telling me you want your best friend to be a chair. That's..."  
"She's a very comfortable chair Todd," Dirk answered. "Perhaps you'd rather she was forced into a form that feels wrong for her, that makes her deeply unhappy and which she finds painful, but I would rather she was a chair." 

Todd opened his mouth, trying to work out how to apologise, and then Dirk leaned in and pressed a kiss to his cheek.  
"I'm sorry. I just... Riggins used to tell her she had to be a human, and she hated it. I know you wouldn't force her to. But I just want her happy."  
"If she's... happy as a chair, I guess she can be a chair?" Todd answered, wondering if this was the oddest sentence he'd said. "Speaking of... you're looking… good?"  
"Well, I'm really in quite severe pain," Dirk said with a shrug. "But I've had some good news."  
"They're letting us go?" Todd suggested, and Dirk laughed a little.

"Don't be ridiculous Todd."   
Dirk cleared his throat, moving from lying beside Todd to standing in front of the bed, a smile on his face.  
"I did it."

It took a moment for Todd to realise what he meant, and then his eyes widened.  
"You-"  
"I solved the case!" Dirk continued, grinning. "May I?"  
"Yeah, obviously," Todd answered, propping himself up on his elbows and watching as Dirk explained the situation enthusiastically.  
"In the 1950s, in the town of Bergsberg, a family named the Cardenases with one son, Arnold, were shocked when they discovered a baby in a boat in the middle of nowhere. Then, out of the kindness of their heart, they took in this baby boy, but bad call, arguably, because it turns out this baby had - stay with me - god-like, reality-warping powers that activated whenever he fell asleep. Basically, his dreams would come true, but in a bad, scary way, not a beautiful inspiring one.” Dirk explained, then paused, seeming to want acknowledgement that Todd was following this. Carefully, Todd nodded, and with a grin Dirk continued.

“Well, all the weirdness the boy was causing in Bergsberg attracted the attention of a government agency, the predecessor to Blackwing. This of course was stressful for the Cardenases, who didn't know how to handle the boy's powers. Tensions in the Cardenas house rose until they finally exploded - they argued, and gasp - Marina Cardenas killed her husband with a pair of scissors.” That particular phrase was accompanied by Dirk miming scissors with his fingers in the air, and Todd bit back a laugh.

“Very bad move for multiple reasons, but mainly because The Boy freaked out, retreated into a dream state, launching his mother into the sky, and putting his father into a tree on the farm he loved so much. After their parents were dead, that left Arnold, the older brother, alone with The Boy. Arnold was understandably traumatised after losing both his parents so he called the number the government agency had given them and turned The Boy in."

"That… that was what Arnold was trying to tell us. The thing he feared never being forgiven for," Todd interrupted, surprised as everything started to fall into place. "Betraying his brother."  
"Ding!" Dirk grinned at him, practically bouncing where he stood. "But a wrinkle: The stress of being taken away by the Men In Black made The Boy try to use his power at a scale he never had before. He tried to make his fantasy real. He created Wendimoor, that's where Panto is from, from The Boy's own mind. Real people, with real lives. The sheer power of that creation caused an energy surge, that was the '67 event, and threw The Boy himself into a coma." He beamed at Todd. "Did it!" He danced. "I'm making that a thing. Did it!"

"So how does any of this help us?" Todd asked. He felt bad for spoiling Dirk's celebration, but as far as he could see they were both still trapped in Blackwing  
"Because I know who, and more importantly where, The Boy is."

Todd stared blankly, and Dirk climbed into bed beside him, reaching for his hand once more. When he spoke, it was a whisper.   
"He's Project Moloch. He's in Blackwing. He's been here the whole time."  
"How did you work that out?"  
"Riggins told me once that Moloch had a big brother, that I was the same age as him... and when I said about Arnold Cardenas... Well, Ken was interviewing me, and he looked towards the files, I saw Moloch's symbol."  
Todd leaned in, brushing his lips against Dirk's own.  
"Everything is connected," he whispered, and Dirk smiled at him before returning the kiss.

Todd allowed himself a few moments of looking at Dirk, seeing how his face was lit softly by the lighting in the room, giving him an almost angelic glow, before he cleared his throat.  
"So what do we do now?"  
"I don't know Todd. That's the one thing in this whole mess that I can't answer, but I know that I've solved the case. And this isn't..." he laughed softly. "I thought that the universe was punishing me by letting me end up back here, that I had somehow messed up so badly that it wanted me to know- and I hadn't. I hadn't Todd. I didn't mess up. I just... I just needed to be in Blackwing so that I could solve the case." Another laugh escaped, and Dirk was smiling, but Todd felt his own heart sink.

"You're telling me you think we're here because the universe wants us to be?"  
"Well, obviously Todd. The universe must think that I've got a better chance of solving the case from inside Blackwing than anywhere else, so it moved me into position. This wasn't a punishment. It was an opportunity."

"Dirk, we aren't chess pieces for the universe to shove around at will."  
"Well, you're not," Dirk answered, and then he looked slightly disheartened. "I guess... I should have seen that this would happen. That us being friends, being... close, would cause you to get caught up in things like this. I'm sorry Todd. You deserve better."

"No." Todd stared. "That's not. I'm not mad at you Dirk. I'm mad at the universe for thinking it can treat you like this."  
"That's very sweet Todd," Dirk said, and Todd frowned a little, wishing there was something that he could _do_ to solve this. Progress might have been made, but they were still trapped here with no clear way out, and Priest had made it clear that he was going to kill Todd. So whatever the universe had planned, it had to be quick about it.

"Dirk, you... you matter. You and Mona and I... I hate that everything has hurt you. Blackwing, the universe - it doesn't matter. They're both as bad as each other. You're a person Dirk, you're not a tool,." Todd pleaded with him. A look of terror passed over Dirk's face, and he closed his eyes.  
"Tools work." Priest's voice echoed around the room as he stepped forwards. "If Svlad is anything, he's a failure. A piece of trash barely worth keeping around... Did you forget we were listening in Svlad? Or were you trying to show off for us. Because I know you like this particular toy, but Ken and I really don't think it'd be very good for you to keep him."

Dirk's eyes were still closed, his lips moving in silent prayer. Todd shuddered as Priest stepped closer, his hand resting on Todd's shoulder, tracing the burn through the cloth as he sobbed at the pain.  
"How will you have me do it Svlad? Do you want me to slit his throat? Or would that be too quick?"

Dirk's eyes flickered open, and he looked up at him desperately.  
"I solved the case. You can't. Not yet. Please."  
"So emotional," Priest reached out, ruffling Dirk's hair, and Todd could see how he flinched away from the touch at that moment. "It never does you any good, you know that. You run around and you play at being a person, and all it does is get other people hurt."

"He's a person," Todd protested. His words came out softly, trembling a little, but he managed to speak. 

A moment later it felt as though all the air was pulled from his lungs, and he gasped desperately for oxygen. Dirk was half-crouched over him, sheltering him with his body, stroking his face and trying to call him back.  
"Shit, he needs his medicine, Mister Priest-" Todd couldn't track what was being said any more, the world spinning and fading as he gasped and struggled and then for a second the world faded to blackness, before he saw a figure crouched at the edge of the room.

They were dressed strangely, a multicoloured cloth wrapped around their head. As he gasped for air, they turned towards him, and he froze.  
"Amanda?"


	6. Rescue

Amanda crouched against Wakti's pool, her heart hammering in her chest. Everything was falling apart. But she'd pulled the Rowdies through. If she could find Dirk, then maybe she could still save something.

She didn't know if she would be able to do it on her own. But Wakti lay dead outside. The world needed her to save it, and she wasn't sure she was strong enough. But she had to try. 

The boys still weren't back from going to find out what was coming. She knew there was a chance that they weren't coming back, that she'd sent them to their deaths. She couldn't think about that, not now. If she could at least know where Dirk was, that would be a start.

She plunged her hands into the pool, using her scarf to cover her mouth in an attempt to stop herself from screaming at the pain that shuddered through her. She focused on Todd, on memories of their childhood, from before he lied, before he'd ruined everything. She thought of that moment they'd had when she was in the cage. He was her brother. She might hate him, but she had to find him, and Dirk too. If this prophecy meant anything - She opened her eyes, and saw a figure. Even from the back, she could recognise the bastard who had hurt Vogel, who was laughing now. She got to her feet, approaching, and reaching out, but she couldn't touch him. She could only see.

Todd was laying on a narrow bed beside Dirk, both dressed in jumpsuits like her boys had been wearing, but grey with an orange stripe. Todd had a bandage wrapped around his thigh, and was looking straight at her.  
"Todd?"  
"Amanda?" he asked, and relief flooded through her, even as she found she couldn't touch him. She wasn't really here. But her consciousness was. 

"Todd, where are you? I need to get Dirk here quickly."  
"We're in Blackwing. So is The Boy," Todd said, and then the man who had hurt Vogel reached out and placed his hand over Todd's nose and mouth. Amanda screamed at him, trying to make him stop, but he couldn't see her. 

She could see tears shining on Dirk's face as he screamed, and then she was aware of being dragged away. 

She landed on her back, panting for air. When she looked up, she saw that her boys were above her, all staring in concern.  
"Hey Drummer,"  
"You want us to feed?" Vogel asked, tilting his head.  
"You smell whacked out man."  
"Your heartrate is spiking-"  
"No," she shook her head. "I'm fine. I'm fine. I know what we need to do. Todd's in Blackwing." The Rowdies snarled a little, and she nodded. "I know. I know. But Todd's there, and so is Dirk. And so is The Boy."

She froze at the sudden sound of laughter, echoing from the doorway to the cave.

"So all I need to do," a woman swept into the cave, dressed in red and black, laughing to herself, her voice echoing as the Rowdies shifted uneasily. Amanda could see she was holding something - a stick tipped with crystals - and she didn’t sound like she was from this world. She knew, suddenly, that this was the woman who had slaughtered her friend. "Is destroy this Boy, kill Dirk Gently, and the world will be mine... Thank you."

The witch walked into the cave, her wand held out in front of her. Martin and Cross growled, stepping forwards. She looked at them and smiled.  
"All that stands in my way, and Wendimoor will be mine."

Amanda saw some movement behind the witch, but before she could register what it was the something jumped, catching the witch around the shoulders and yelling at her.  
"BAG LEEDEE. BAG LEDDEE!" the thing yelled. Amanda glanced at the Rowdies, and Martin nodded, leading the five of them from the hut. They had to get away from her before she killed them all.

Amanda tried to stay calm as she raced through the woods. She had to think, had to concentrate. Dirk was the only hope any of them had, but without the pool she felt completely hopeless.

Eventually, as she was starting to tire, Martin brought them to a standstill. He grinned at them, but she could see the tiredness there.  
"It's okay Drummer. We got you, we're gonna protect you. And boys, don't you worry. We die here, we ain't going back."

Each of the Rowdies embraced Amanda, Vogel clinging to her longest.  
"So what do we do now Boss?" he asked as he looked up at her.  
"I..." she paused. She couldn't tell them she didn't know. They were relying on her. She smiled as brightly as she could. "I guess we find another way of getting Dirk here."

A sound echoed through the undergrowth, and then what was probably-a-person appeared. Her hair was red but flicked with the colours of the rainbow, and she bounced as she squatted before them.  
"Needa magek watta?"  
"It's the thing from the box!" Vogel yelled triumphantly, only to be shushed by Martin. Slowly, Amanda nodded.  
"Yeah, we do need magic water. Do you know where we can find some?"

"Comalong thisaway. Magek watta. Mek bag ledee goway?"  
"I'll try," Amanda answered, following their strange guide. "You got a name?"  
Their guide tilted her head to one side, pressing her lips together and frowning, then shaking her head quickly.   
"Thisaway."

Amanda followed.   
"Can you pull Icarus out like you did us?" Martin asked, and she hesitated.  
"I dunno. I mean, I could pull you out because you were... you were somewhere I could reach. And I could reach it again, I think, but I don't know if I can just go wandering around Blackwing. If Wakti was here-" Amanda took a deep breath. Time for mourning would come later. Martin nodded.

"You need someone to go in and pull him out."  
Amanda nodded.  
"I've been asking so much of you-"  
"I don't like it Drummer. Don't want to leave you undefended, and don't want to put none of my boys back there. I promised them." He took a deep breath. "I'm gonna go. I'll go and bring them back."

She embraced him, burying her face in his side. He stroked her hair.  
"You take care of my boys while I'm gone Drummer. Wouldn't trust no one else."  
"I don't think I can hold the portal open long." She told him. "Once you're through... I'll keep opening it in short bursts. But don't come through unless it's just opened, I don't know what'd happen if you got caught-"  
"Sure thing Drummer."

They had reached a cave, and the rainbow-monster grabbed her hand, pulling her forward.  
"Lookee lookee magek watta."

Amanda stared at the pool in the cave, and hesitated when she saw a child's drawings reflected there.  
"Thank you," she whispered.

"You boys keep Drummer safe, okay? I can't get back if she's not here, so you guys have to do this," Martin told them, embracing Vogel, then Cross, then Gripps, then Amanda. Vogel grabbed on to him again, and he rested his face in Vogel's hair. "I'll see you soon." 

Vogel nodded and pulled away, and Amanda plunged her hands into the water of the pool. 

Immediately it hurt. It felt like knives were piercing every inch of skin that was in contact with it, drills sinking into her bones.  
"Now!" she yelled, and she saw Martin jump into the water. She held it a few seconds longer before pulling away, gasping for air.

"Something bad's coming boss!" Vogel called out, and Amanda nodded.  
"Need you boys to give me as long as you can."

***

"Please," Dirk begged, his voice cracking slightly in desperation. "Don't kill him yet. Please. I'll try, I promise, I'll..." his voice trailed off into fear, as Priest looked at him curiously, a smirk playing on his lips. Todd had stopped fighting in his grasp, and was now twitching at the lack of air.

Alarms ripped through the air, and Priest released Todd to place his hand to his ear.  
"I see. On my way." He patted Dirk on the head like you would a puppy. "I'll come and play with you two later Svlad."

Dirk cringed but held himself still until he heard the door lock, then laid Todd out on the bed. He put his ear against Todd's mouth, gazing down the length of his body and shuddering in relief as he realised he was still breathing. He laid beside him, ignoring his own pain and fear, waiting for Todd to return to him.

Todd's eyes flickered open, and he flinched.  
"Fuck."  
"You're okay," Dirk promised. "You're safe for now Todd, he got called away."

Todd nodded, but Dirk could see the terror there, knew he was lying and knew that Todd could recognise his lie. He reached out, pressing his hands against Todd's, trying to keep lying for a little longer.  
"Farah's probably planning a rescue right now," he promised, and Todd looked at him and nodded. They both knew Farah was dead. They both knew that Todd would be dead within a day or two. But Dirk needed this, and so did Todd.

Dirk hesitated.  
"They made you a project," he pointed out, like a child trying to construct an argument. "They made you a project, so you... you've got to be useful to them. You're going to be okay. You'll be fine. If they were just using you to get to me they wouldn't..." he wrapped his arms around Todd, and Todd embraced Dirk as the alarms continued to blare. He could hear the distant sound of gunfire, and of explosions.

"It sounds like... the night we escaped," Dirk whispered, shaking in Todd's arms. "Maybe... maybe this is your sister, coming to rescue us."  
"Yeah, maybe," Todd agreed, then paused and stole another kiss from Dirk. "Look, Dirk, whatever happens - none of this is your fault, okay? And you... you aren't psychic, and you aren't an experiment. You're my boyfriend. You're a good person. Just don't let them take away that. You are Dirk Gently, okay?"

Dirk nodded, blinking back tears and clutching Todd against him. They were both injured, and the movements were aggravating those injuries, but holding each other close was more important at that moment.

The sounds of shouting were getting closer, and Todd made sure to look straight at Dirk as something slammed into their door. If he was going to die, he wanted to see Dirk as it happened, didn't want Dirk to think he was afraid. Dirk's back was to the door, so Todd hoped he would never see whatever was coming for them.

The banging at the door got louder, and Dirk was shuddering in his grasp. Todd leaned forwards to kiss him.

"Get a fucking room boys," came a voice that Todd recognised. His first thought was Priest, but there was something wrong in the way he spoke. After a moment, he risked opening his eyes.

One of the Rowdies, the tall blond one that seemed to be the leader, was leaning against the doorframe.  
"Come on Icarus, gotta get you through to Drummer so you can fix this mess."

Dirk rolled over slowly, gazing at him, and the man seemed shocked when he saw the bruises to Dirk's face. Dirk licked his lips before speaking.  
"You have to take Todd."  
"Uh-huh," the Rowdy crossed the space over towards Dirk and picked him up in one smooth movement, lifting him over his shoulder and holding them there. Dirk whimpered as the movement pressed against some of the injuries he had received.  
"Let go of me you giant ape." Dirk squirmed, then yelped a little as he managed to cause himself more pain. The Rowdy started towards the door, and Dirk twisted suddenly in his grasp, punching the man in the back and sinking his teeth into the man's hand.

The Rowdy dropped him out of surprise, and Dirk crumpled to the floor like a puppet whose strings had suddenly been cut, panting frantically.  
"Look," he began, raising his hands. "I have never hit anyone before and… ohh I do not know what to do now. I was rude, I am becoming a violent young-- or youngish-- man. And my face feels very hot, and my hand might actually be broken, so, uh, don't hit me?"

The Rowdy stared at him for a moment, before raising his hand and tapping Dirk particularly hard on his nose. He flinched, but allowed him to get his feet back onto the floor. Dirk raced back to Todd, wrapping his arms around him and kissing him for a moment before pulling away to look up at the Rowdy. "You have to take Todd."

"I know you're sweet on him boy, but I'll come back for ‘im in a bit, don't you worry about that," the Rowdy explained, but Dirk shook his head.  
"Not good enough."

"What do you mean? I'm rescuing you, you idiot."  
"It _has_ to be Todd. Look, if this was ceteris paribus, I would be begging you for a way out of here. This place is an Orwellian nightmare and I... But if Todd's here and I'm not, they'll kill him. Even more than that, he _has_ to be there to help his sister. This is... this is a hunch, or a vision, or a prediction or whatever kind of bullshit will make you listen to me and do what I'm telling you, because you _have_ to take Todd." He paused for breath, and Todd could feel him shaking. "Please."

"Fine," the Rowdy answered, and then Todd found himself swung over his shoulder.

He was carried through the smoky corridors of Blackwing, hearing the distant sounds of gunfire and screaming, and he clung to Martin's shoulder for dear life. Then they reached a new cell, where he could see three coffin-like shapes suspended from the ceiling, above three voids in the floor. Martin stood at the edge of the middle void, and Todd could feel him shaking.  
"Drummer said she'll open the portal soon," he explained, and Todd found his feet on the ground. "You look like shit."  
"Feel like shit too," Todd agreed, and then the portal began to glow, and Martin grabbed him and jumped.

He found himself on the floor of a room, the screaming fading away, and he was dizzy, not able to work out which way was up until Martin pulled him to his feet.  
"Boy was pretty clear you needed this one. That you’d know what to do-" the Rowdy said, and he could hear Amanda's voice but couldn't track the words.

"Todd, I'm sorry," she murmured, and he felt himself being lifted and manoeuvred, and then pushed, and agony sprawled up across his arms. He could hear noise from outside, and Martin cursed then turned his back on them. Todd tried to pull away from the pool, but it hurt too much, and he could hear Amanda's screams with his own. He could feel his consciousness slipping away.

There was sudden darkness, enveloping them entirely, but Todd felt his sisters’ hands on his own.  
"The pain was too much, so I took us out of our bodies-" Amanda began to explain, and Todd looked at where they were. Amanda was wearing strange clothes, and he was still in his jumpsuit, but he wasn't in Blackwing or the room he'd been in before. He was somewhere stranger.  
"You can do that?"  
"Apparently, yeah."  
"What is this place?" he asked.  
"I guess it's what's behind everything?" Amanda suggested. "Like, the backstage of reality."  
"Wow..." he turned to his sister, and stared up at the beautiful lights, and they laughed.  
"Drugs!" they said in unison, before Amanda frowned.  
"You look awful." Amanda murmured. "Stay with me. The pain is going to try and pull you back into your body, but trust me, you don't wanna be there right now."  
"Dirk-" Todd protested, and Amanda swallowed.

"He's got you here for a reason. He needs you. I need you. I can't hold the portal open on my own, but with you I can do this."  
"I'm sorry," Todd murmured. "I'm sorry about all of this Amanda."   
"I know you are," Amanda answered. "And we can talk about it after this. But first, we have to try and keep the portal open...."

***

He lost track of time, knowing that Dirk was not safe yet, that he was trying to solve everything and that all Todd could do was stay in one place and help Amanda. Only he found himself pulled away, and tried to crawl towards Amanda, but it hurt too much. A woman laughed at him. It took him a moment to recognise Susie - her clothing was different now, red and black and she was wearing a crown. He. He looked up as she stepped closer, holding out her wand.

Amanda wasn't moving. He tried to move to protect her, to shelter her, but every movement was agony. Susie stepped closer, her foot resting on his shoulder, and he whimpered. She was monologing at him, and after the day he was having, he really couldn't face another monologue from another villain. He groaned, trying to roll away, and out of the corner of his eye he could see something moving. Then there was a burst of movement, and Susie fell back, screaming as something with red hair or fur grabbed her wand away, racing off into the forest with it.

Todd watched as Susie swore loudly then raced after the thing, and he managed to pull Amanda against him. After a moment, her eyes flickered open and she swallowed.  
"We've got to get to the pool," she explained, and Todd let her manouver him.  
"I've messed up," Amanda murmured, and Todd embraced her.  
"You need to reopen the portal, okay? Open the gate..."

They held each other's hands, for a moment. He could hear laughter. Susie was getting her wand back, but he couldn't let himself worry about that. He needed to get the portal open. He dropped forwards into the pool, and the pain began. He waited for Amanda to pull him from his body, could hear her screams. He had to hope this would work. That he hadn't abandoned Dirk. He could feel his consciousness fading, hear Susie approaching, and he was afraid. Not just of dying, but of Amanda dying as well.

The pain peaked, and he flopped forwards, his arms sinking into the pool halfway up his arms. He heard sudden yelling, and then a child's voice spoke.  
"Rise and shine!"  
There was a sudden secondary explosion, and he fell backwards from the pool.Familiar arms wrapped around him instantly, and held him close. He looked up at Dirk, and frowned a little to see that Dirk was wearing his yellow jacket over his jumpsuit. He tried to reach for him, only for Dirk to cringe away in pain. His hand was damp. Twisting slightly, he saw a bullet wound in Dirk's leg.  
"Dirk... did you get shot?"  
"...No?" Dirk answered carefully, as there was a sudden loud cough from behind him, followed by a groan.  
"You?" Amanda asked, and Todd tried to twist a little too far to see what was happening, and it hurt. He whined in pain.

Dirk and Amanda were both holding him, and in the background he could hear the thing with red hair chattering. He saw a little boy standing on the steps by the throne, dressed in white and wearing a crown. Susie was speaking, but the little boy waved his hand and she disappeared.  
"Dirk-" Todd pointed at The Boy in amazement. "It's him, it's actually him. You did it. What? How?"  
Dirk was grinning broadly as he answered.  
"Bit of a team effort really." 

"That's the boy," Amanda pointed out, and the boy smiled.  
"Francis. My name is Francis. Thanks for bringing me back Dirk, I'm sorry it was so confusing."  
"No, that's... it's quite alright," Dirk answered from his position on the floor, leaning against Todd for support  
"It was hard for me to see anything clearly when I was in the big sleep," Francis explained. "I couldn't make anything new, couldn't change anything. I just knew if I could get here, I could wake up."

Amanda cleared her throat.  
"I'm sorry your world got so screwed up."  
"It's okay," Francis answered, a smile on his lips that was like the one Dirk got when a case was going well. "I can fix all of this. Wendimoor will be perfect."

"What about the Mage?" Todd asked cautiously, and Dirk's eyes widened.  
"The Mage. Oh my god, I totally forgot about him. We need to stop him."  
"The Mage is dead," Francis said quickly, his gaze looking past the three of them on the floor. "Your friends back home already stopped him."

Todd frowned, looking at the boy in confusion.  
"Who could possibly stop a super-powerful dark wizard?"  
"Farah," chorused Dirk and Amanda, and Todd smiled slightly, leaning on Dirk's shoulder.  
"Farah. I knew it before you said it." She was alive. She had to be for the Mage to be dead.  
"But now, she needs your help."  
"Why? What?" Todd asked, and the boy just smiled.  
"I'll send you back with a gift. It'll be the last thing I make in the old world. Thank you for your help, stranger."

With a wave of his hand, Todd found himself in a quarry, his body aching more now. He was stood beside a white vehicle, which had the word "AMBOOLENTS" written in blue on its side. He took a couple of breaths, bracing himself, and then set off to find Farah. He could see her lying on the ground, and could already see a lot of blood. He raced forwards, seeing she wasn't alone.   
"Farah! Hobbs!"

***

Dirk watched as first Todd, and then Amanda were sent home. He took off his jacket, allowing Mona to reform, and leaning against her for support. She cuddled into his side with a shy smile.

Carefully, they approached the throne.  
"Hello Francis, it's nice to meet you," Mona greeted him.  
"Thank you for your help Mona. I couldn't have done this without you, Dirk."

He paused, then turned to the pool. Dirk glanced back, and saw Supervisor Friedkin lying there, barely breathing. He didn’t look so scary now, and Francis certainly wasn’t afraid as he spoke to him.  
"You need to get better, but then, I am sure there will be a role for you in this world. You aren't wanted in the old world any more, but I need a messenger between the old world and the new. Sometimes things are important, and we can't keep borrowing Mona's eyes." With a wave of his hand, Friedkin disappeared.

Dirk swallowed, sitting down and leaning forwards.   
"Can I ask you… do you know what I am? Do you know why I am?" Ken's words echoed in his ears, and he knew that what he was had nearly gotten Todd killed, and that was a nightmare in and of itself.   
"I know a little," Francis answered. "We're supposed to help fix things. That's what all of us are. Tools to fix the broken universe." He exchanged a smile with Mona as relief flooded through him. He had a purpose, and now he had the support he needed. He listened as the little boy explained some of what he was, and why.

"You have to create your own world. Create your own family." He smiled at Dirk fondly. "I suppose you already know that." Dirk managed to nod, and then he was disappearing as well.

***

Todd was waiting at the hospital when Dirk appeared beside him. He leaned against Todd's side, and Todd gently rubbed his hands up and down Dirk's spine.  
"Hey, we did it."

Dirk nodded slowly, a faint smile on his lips.  
"Nightmare is over," he promised, and Todd nodded. He was exhausted. He was afraid, glancing at every car that went past in case it was Blackwing. He half expected Priest to jump out at him at any moment holding a knife. But Dirk was leaning against him, wearing his yellow jacket, and there was a slight smile on his lips. 

His phone buzzed in his pocket and he glanced down to see that he had been sent a message from Amanda. He'd reply in a little while. For now, he just needed to hold onto Dirk, and believe that things were going to be okay.


	7. Recovery

Todd groaned slightly, trying to find a position on the giant beanbag which didn't hurt his still-healing injuries. Dirk looked worried, reaching out for a painkiller which was on a tray beside them, and Todd took it gratefully. He might be the only one of the group who wasn't currently suffering from a gunshot wound - several gun shot wounds in Farah's case - but he still was in agony. Technically he supposed Mona didn't have any bullet wounds, but she was currently a large, rainbow-striped beanbag taking up most of the floor of the agency, so he didn't know if she counted. He glanced over at Farah, deciding not to ask the question out loud in Dirk's hearing because Dirk was quite protective of the other project.

He nodded when he caught Farah's eye, relieved to see her, to know she was alive after everything. Farah nodded back at him after a moment, yawning and turning her attention to her phone. Her lips twisted up in a slight smile.  
"You and Tina huh?" Todd asked, and she stuttered slightly.

"She's... we're going to see each other again soon," Farah said, picking her words carefully, but the expression on her face confirmed what Todd had thought.  
"You saved her."  
"We saved each other," Farah said quietly. "I'm sorry I couldn't stop Blackwing from-"  
"No." Dirk's voice was harsh, and Todd reached for his hand. "It wasn't your fault Farah. Wasn't anyone's but theirs." Dirk reached out for Todd, and Todd let him cuddle close, brushing his fingers over Dirk's shoulder where he knew the brand was. Dirk smiled faintly at him.  
"I should tell you who Orpheus was," Dirk murmured, and there was a fondness in his eyes that Todd never expected to see directed at him.  
"You said he was a musician."

"More than that," Dirk answered, and his fingers reached for Todd's shirt, unbuttoning it carefully.  
"Orpheus was the most talented musician to ever live. His music would charm the birds from the trees, and even stones would listen in rapture as he played. He loved a young woman, a woman called Eurydice, and she loved him. They married, and lived in bliss. But one day, Eurydice was chased by a man, and she died as a snake bit her, sending her to death, and her soul to the underworld." Dirk paused for a moment, brushing his lips against Todd's own.

"Orpheus was in agony. He sung of his loss, and moved everyone who heard him with the power of his grief, even the gods themselves. And the gods protected him as he went into Hades, charming the creatures of that realm, and even the god of death himself. And Hades made him an offer. He could take his wife's soul, but if he looked back to check she was following before he returned to the light, then he would lose her."

Dirk leaned in, taking Todd's hands, entwining their fingers.  
"He started, and began to walk, trusting her to follow him. But he couldn't hear her footsteps, and that frightened him. He turned, and he saw her ghost, before it was pulled back to the underworld forever. She... she must have thought she'd escaped her nightmare, but found herself pulled away."  
Dirk leaned in, pressing his lips to the tattoo on Todd's chest before looking up and into his eyes. "They were wrong about you. You did pull me out from hell. You trusted me, and we got out, together."

Todd nodded, curling up against Dirk's side. He didn't want to go to his bed tonight, didn't want to be somewhere where he couldn't reach Farah, or Mona, or Dirk. He needed to be close to them. He thought they might need to be close as well. 

He didn't think he would be able to sleep that night, not when he was hurting, not when his mind kept dragging him back to their time in Blackwing's cells. But that was alright. He could guard Dirk and Farah for a little while, could keep them safe in his arms. 

The cushion that they were lying on sprouted a blanket, which felt soft after the ones at Blackwing. He found himself running his fingers across the fabric until he heard a muted giggle, and glanced at Dirk.  
"You're tickling her," Dirk murmured, and Todd wondered whether he would ever get used to this. 

Dirk had made his life infinitely more terrifying than before. There was danger he could never have even imagined, and he'd been to a parallel world (however briefly) and travelled through time. He now lived with a shapeshifter.

Todd wouldn't change this, wouldn't change Dirk, for anything. He would stay by his side, and unlike Orpheus, he would always find a way to get Dirk to safety.

Dirk smiled at him then yawned.  
"Goodnight Todd."  
"Goodnight Dirk." He cuddled him close for a moment. "I love you."


End file.
